DUNCAN, OK C-SECITON BIRTH | BABY R

I'm so thrilled to share this Birth Story with you! It was my first time to photograph a 'belly birth', and I was so happy with how Momma and baby were both treated. Unfortunately, there can be a bit of stigma around c-sections: that they aren't 'real births'. It's just absolutely not true, and being able to capture this birth and share it with you I hope will help you see that birth is beautiful no matter how it happens.

Kaley knew she was scheduled for a c-section, so she contacted me, not for the birth originally, but to shoot some right after. They had been waiting to find out the gender of their Baby till her birthday! After thinking about it some, I asked her what she thought about me being in the OR to photograph the birth, and she really loved the idea. Then I had to contact Doctor Stacie Elfrink, Duncan OB/GYN. I think Dr. Elfink was more excited than I was that Kaley wanted her belly birth captured! She gave me full permission to be in the OR.

Unlike my other births, I knew exactly when to go to the hospital and didn't have any nightmares about missing the big moment. (Being on call is tough!). I got to Duncan Regional Hospital early that morning, and walked into Kaley's room full of family. Elfrink and the anesthesiologist both came in to give Kaley a quick rundown. Then they wheeled her away and got scrubs out for Dad and I to wear in the OR.

Not sure what I expected, but the OR was big and bright and can I say bubbly? There was definitely anticipation in the air when Peyton sat down on a stool by Kaley's head. About 10 later Elrink said the baby was here. "What is it??" Kaley asked.

Baby Girl Presgrove was born at 8:23am.

Before the birth, Kaley and Peyton both said they were hoping for a boy. But I tell you what, there wasn't a single thing you could do to make them both stop smiling at the sound of "It's a girl!" They immediately started gushing over her, and you would have never known they were thinking 'blue' when they went into the OR.

Dr. Elfink said I could go to the warmer to get some shots of the newest member of the Presgrove family. She was perfectly pink and crying her big baby cries. And as soon as they could, the team got her to Kaley so they could start skin-to-skin, right there in the OR while the doctor finished Kaley up.

I've heard such sad stories about Mommas and missing moments because of a c-seciton birth. But I was so pleasantly surprised about how every single person in the OR treated the moment like the wonderful birth that it was. It wasn't just a medical procedure. It was a brand new little person taking their first big gulp of air, and the occasion was treated with happiness and pose and honor that Kaley, Peyton and their Baby deserved.